Detector and lock control for drawbridge lift rails



Feb. 24, 1959 E. L. KOENIG 2, 75, 25

DETECTOR AND LOCK CONTROL FOR DRAWBRIDGE LIFT RAIL'S Filed Dec. 8, 1955s Sheets-Sheet 1 T -E IL.

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INVENTOR 5W4 A. KQEN/ ATTORNEYS Feb. 24, 1959 E. L. KOENIG 2,875,325

DETECTOR AND LOCK CONTROL FOR DRAWBRIDGE LIFT RAILS Filed Dec. 8, 1955 sSheets-S heet 2 INVENTOR [MIL A. A oE/v/G SQ Q Q mm BY 9 f M j ATTORNEYSFeb. 24, 1959 E. L. KOENIG 2,875,325 DETECTOR AND LOCK CONTROL FORDRAWBRIDGE LIFT RAILS Filed Dec 8. 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 "ha ks Q E; E g

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INVENTOR EM/4 Z. KoE/v/G ATTO RN EYS DETECTOR AND LOCK CONTROL FORDRAWBRIDGE LIFT RAILS Emil L. Koenig, Brooklyn, 'N. Y.; CorneliusPeterson, executor of said Emil L. Koenig, deceased Application December8, 1955, Serial No. 551,861

4 Claims. (Cl. 246--118) The present invention relates to a combineddetector and lock control for drawbridge lift rails and relates, moreparticularly, to a device for detecting the position of drawbridge liftrails and for controlling the operation of a locking device for securingsaid rails in place.

An object of the present invention is to provide a combined detector andlock control device which provides a positive indication of the positionof the lift rails of a drawbridge or the like and at the sametimecontrols operation of a locking device for securing the lift rails inposition where it is safe for rolling stock to move over thedraw-bridge. Another object of the invention is to provide a combinedlift rail detector and lock control device which is simple and durablein its construction and which will not be affected in its operation byex- "posure to weather conditions or vibration caused by trains passingover the rails.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent and bestunderstoood from the following description and the accompanying drawingsin which:

'Fig. l is a plan view of a set of end rails forming track connectionsto a drawbridge and including a detector and lock controlling deviceembodying the present invention;

Fig. la is a section view taken along the line 1a1a of Fig. 1, but on anenlarged scale;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the rails shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is asection view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, but on an enlargedscale;

, Fig. 4 is a section view corresponding to Fig. 3 but with the partsshown in different positions;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section view of a modified form of detector andlock controlling device embodying the inventionyand Fig. 6 is a verticalsection view of another modified form of detector and lock controllingdevice embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and in particular to Figs. 1 and 2,there is a set of end rails which form the track connections for onerail of a track for a drawbridge.

I The end rails'include a rocker or lift rail 10 of a type commonlydesignated as an H-shaped rail; an end rail 12 carried on thedrawbridgetand a fixed rail 13 sup ported onthe shore.

The lift rail 10 is pivoted at one end on a shaft 11 which is supportedby the end rail 12 on the drawbridge and the lift rail and the end railmove with the drawbridge in its operation. When the end rails are inposition for safe travel over the bridge, the other end of the lift rail10 is seated in the end of the fixed rail 13 which is supported on ashore pier or other abutment in a fixed position.

The end rails referred to above are of conventional construction andhence, need not be described in detail here. However, it will beunderstood that two parallel rails form the track on which the train orother vehicle operates, but to avoid duplication, only a single set ofend rails has been shown and described herein.

The end rails are formed with base plates which are fastened to ties inthe usual manner and a locking dog 14 is slidably mounted on the baseplate of the fixed rail at the outer side thereof opposite a point wherethe fixed rail and lift rail overlap. The locking dog 14 is movabletransversely with respect to the rails 10 and 13 and a finger 14a at oneend of the locking dog extends over a shoulder 10a in the top of thelift rail when the locking dog is in locking position. The other end ofthe locking dog is connecteion by a link 15 to a suitable operatingmechanism, such as a pneumatically operated cyinder and piston 16, whichmoves the locking dog into and out of locking engagement with the liftrail.

When the lift rail is locked in place, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, atrain or similar vehicle may safely pass over the drawbridge. When thelocking dog iswithdr'awn from engagementwith the lift rails, the liftrails may be elevated at one end, as indicated by the dot and dash linesin Fig. 2, and the lift rails and the rails on the drawbridge may bemoved as desired in operation of the drawbridge. To insure safe passageof a train across 'the drawbridge, it is essential to provide a positiveindication that the lift rails are fully seated in the fixed rails andare locked in place. The mechanism for accomplishing this must bereliable in operation and be capable of exposure to weather and roughusage from the move ment of trains over the rails.

In the mechanism embodying the present invention, there is a lever 17which is secured to a rock shaft 18. The shaft 18 is rotatably supportedby a bracket 19 carried by the base plate 20 of the fixed rail 13. Oneend of the lever 17 extends beneath the base plate and has two spacedpins 21 and 22 formed thereon which project upwardly from the lever. Thepin 21 extends into an opening 23 in the base plate immediately beneaththe locking dog and the other pin 22 extends into an opening 24 in thebase plate which communicates with the recessed portion 13a of the fixedrail in which the end of the lift rail seats.

When the locking dog is withdrawn from engagement with the lift rail andthe end of the lift rail is elevated, the end of the lever 17 is raised,as will be described hereinafter, and the pin 21 then projects in frontof the locking dog so as to prevent inward movement of the locking dogso long as the end of the lever remains in its raised position. Underthese conditions, the pin 22 projects into the recess in the fixed railand is engaged by the bottom of the lift rail as said rail is seated inthe fixed rail. When the end of the lift rail is fully seated in thefixed rail, the engagement of the bottom of the lift rail with the topof the pin 22 forces the end of the lever downwardly and moves the pin21 out of the path of travel of the locking dog. For convenience, thepin 21 may be termed a lock control pin and the pin 22 'may be termed adetector pin.

When the end of the lift rail is elevated, a counterweight 25 carried atthe outer end of the lever 17 causes the end of the lever on which thepins are carried to move upwardly toward the position shown in Fig. 4.The outer end of the lever 17 may be connected by a linkage 26 to ashaft 27 which controls the operation of a switch 28. The switch 28 isinterconnected with a signalling system so as to provide the usualindication. of the track conditions. The locking dog may also beinterconnected with the signalling system for the purpose of indicatingthe track conditions. Such connections are arranged so that when thelift rail is fully seated in the fixed rail and the locking dog is inlooking position as shown in Fig. 3, the signalling system will providean indication that it is safe to proceed across the drawbridge.

In order to insure positive operation of the lever 17, an operating arm29 is secured at one end to the shaft I8 and extends upwardly with itsupper end 38 being positioned to engage with the top of the lift rail asthe lift rail is elevated. Asthe lift rail is elevated, the top "of thelift rail strikes the upper end of the arm and raises the arm. Themovement of the arm rocks the shaft 13in a direction to move the pincarrying end of the or fail to move under the influence of thecounterweight for any reason.

i The end 30 of the arm 29 which is engaged by the lift rail is roundedand has a relatively large radius of (curvature. The end of the arm isalso positioned so that the lift rail will tend to force the armupwardly if the :arm is held down as the end of the'lift rail isbeingseated inthe ,fixed rail.

"In the embodiment of the invention shown in 'Fig. 5, there is anoperating arm 29a which is connected to the lever 17. The upper end 30aof the arm 2% is located behind the rock shaft 18 and the end of the armis weighted. Thus, the arm 23a tends to rotate the pin carrying end ofthe lever upwardly in conjunction with the counterweight 25 carried atthe outer end of the lever 17. An extension arm 31 is secured to thelift rail and strikes the weighted end 30a of the arm 29a as the liftrail is elevated to insure positive movement of the lever .17.

.In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. '6, there is a lever32 with a lock control pin 33 and a detector pin 34 at one end thereof.The lever 32 is carried by a rock shaft 35 which is rotatably supportedfrom the base plate of the fixed rail 13 and the other end of the leveris connected by a linkage 36 to a piston 37 in an -.air cylinder 38.

The connections for admitting air to the air cylinder 38 are arranged sothat when air is admitted to the cylinder 16 to withdraw the locking dogfrom engagement with the lift rail, air will be admitted to the cylinder38 and the outer end of the lever 32 will be forced downwardly. The aircylinder 38 contains a spring 39 which acts on the piston 37 and forcesthe outer end of the lever downwardly in case of a failure in the airsupply.

A combined detector and lock control is preferably applied to each setof rails forming a two rail track. Similar parts have been identified bycorresponding identification numerals throughout the drawings.

Although certain embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it will be understood that various other changes andmodifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the followingclaims.

.I claim: j I

1. In a device for indicating the position of an end of a movable liftrail relative to an adjoiningend of 'a Tfixed rail, the improvementwhich comprises a lever pivotally mounted adjacent an end of a fixed.rail and an adjoining end of a movable lift rail, said lever having anend extending beneath said rails and being movable between a raisedposition and a lowered position with respect to the fixed rail, said endof the lever engaging with lever upwardly. Thus, operation of the lever17 is assured in the event that the lever should become frozen and beingmaintained in said lowered position "by said engagement with the movablelift rail when the ends of the fixed and movable rails are in adjoiningrelation, and means for positively moving the end of the lever from thelowered position to the raised position thereof in response to movementof the movable rail, said means including an arm connected to the leverat a point spaced from the movable end thereof and extending upwardlyinto the path of movement of the movable rail when the end of the leveris in lowered position, said arm engaging with the movable rail andbeing movable in an arcuate path out of engagement therewith by movementof the movable .rail whereby the end of the lever is moved fromitslowered position to its raised position.

2. In a device for indicating the position of an end of a movable liftrail relative to an adjoining end of a fixed rail, the improvement asdefined in claim 1 which includes a counterweight carried by the leverand biasing the rail engaging end of the lever toward its raisedposition.

3. In a device for indicating the position of an end of a movable liftrail relative to an adjoining end of a fixed rail, the improvement asdefined in claim v1 which includes a member carried at the rail engagingend of the lever and extending into the path of movement of a raillocking shoe in the raised position of said end of the lever.

4. In a device for indicating the position of an end of a movable liftrail relative to an adjoining end of a fixed rail, the combination of alever pivoted at a point adjacent adjoining ends of a movable lift railand a fixed rail, said lever having a movable end extending beneath theend of the fixed rail, said end being movable between a raised positionand a lowered position relative to the fixed rail, a member carried bysaid end of the lever in alignment with an opening in the bottom of thefixed rail, said opening being located beneath a portion of a movablelift rail overlapping the end of the fixed fail, a counterweight carriedat an opposite end of said lever and urging the movable end of the levertoward its raised position, and an operating arm connected to the, leverand extending upwardly from the lever into the path of movement of themovable lift rail, said arm engaging with the lift rail upon upwardmovement thereof and being movable in an arcuate path and out ofengagement with the lift rail upon said upward movement thereof wherebythe movable end of one lever is pivotally moved toward the raisedposition thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS258,601 Putman May 30, 1882 365,818 Johnson July '5, 1887 1,056,888Davidson Mar. 25, 1913 1,098,021 Davidson May 26, 1914 1,200,077 CaslerOct. 3, "1 916 1,332,179 Howard Feb. 24, 1920 1,533,513 Pearce Apr. 14,1925 2,528,064 Logan Oct. 31, 1950 2,575,815 Jefferson Nov. 20, 1951

